On Tuesday, the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that New York's congressional lines drawn by a special master prior to the 2022 elections must be thrown out and a new set of maps must be approved by the end of February.

The decision was derided by Republicans from every corner of the state, including Long Island Republican state Assemblyman Ed Ra. Ra told Capital Tonight that Democrats in the state “did everything to stack the court in their favor” to win this case.

• SEE ALSO | What's next now that New York's congressional lines must be redrawn?

In a 4-3 decision, the court on Tuesday ruled that the Independent Redistricting Commission must come up with a new set of district lines for New York’s congressional districts by Feb. 28, 2024, just four months before the scheduled primaries in New York.

The decision comes after Associate Judge Rowan Wilson was nominated and confirmed to take over for former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who had not supported the Democratic position in the first round of arguments over district lines. Caitlin Halligan, who was nominated and confirmed to take Judge Wilson’s associate judge position, had recused herself.

While Ra says Republicans had expected the result, the focus now turns to the process of drawing new lines being “done properly.”

If the Legislature, which has Democratic supermajorities in both houses, does not approve the lines drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission, they will have the ability to draw the lines themselves. Good government groups have warned that a legislatively drawn map could lead to gerrymandering.